Franz Kafka A Hunger Artist

As a well-rounded character, whom readers don’t know the exact name of, he calls himself the “hunger artist”. Written in the early 20th century, “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka depicts a tone of shock and anticipation. The hunger artist would personify himself as an animal in a cage for the eyes of others as “[i]t used to pay very well to stage such great performances under one’s own management…” (639), with the interest of this knack being absent over the previous years, this man would hope to revive the work of art once more. Kafka uses strong imagery of the artist by stating “…he sat there pallid in black tights, with his ribs sticking out so prominently, not even on a seat but down among straw on the ground…” (639) creating an idea in the reader’s head of what this may have looked like if one would witness this strange performance. The short story contains flat characters, guards observing his every move to reassure that the performer would not have a single grain of nourishment in his body as it was the purpose of this “art form” and the individuals that would come and go, including the children who would gaze with pure astonishment, individuals who were confused by this act, and the few that would apprehend the concept. They would watch the

Throughout the enthralling story, one finds out what demon kept him starved. One would observe that this is a character vs. self, conflict. It was his own thought of food. The self-imprisoned man could never find anything that he was fond of to consume, so he set himself on display in hopes that he would have an on the edge of their seat audience, who in the end were jaded with the act. He was angered with himself, affirming readers “[i]f [he] had found it… [he] would have made no fuss and stuffed [him]self like [them] or anyone else” (644). The initial production of this project had greater intent, and in the end it turned out he had caged his own